A Psychological Analysis of Yugi Mutou
by Chibi Yoshi
Summary: A psychology assignment gon wrong answers the question: What would happen if Yugi paid a visit to a psychologist? Insightful, but kinda humorous too.


Mwahaha, this is what happens when I get inspiration for schoolwork. XP I had this psychology assignment where we had to analyze a popular figure and diagnose them with a psychological disorder. So I thought, "Dude! Yugi would be PERFECT for that!" So I had fun with it… and I liked it so much that I decided to expand it a bit and post it here. XP Sooo, as the summary says, this answers the question of what would happen if Yugi paid a visit to a psychologist.

Some notes… this is written from the point of view of the psychologist, almost like a report of sorts. Also, I dunno how old Yugi is, so I just made something up. O.o Anyway on with… A Psychological Analysis of Yugi Mutou!

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Client: Yugi Mutou, 16-year old boy

Diagnosis: dissociative identity disorder (formerly known as multiple personality disorder) and schizophrenia

Yugi's mother was the one to contact me about his problem, telling me that she would often find him talking to himself (or his "other self," as the case may be) or to the gold object he wears around his neck. My first impression was that this was only a teenage "phase". However, upon interviewing the boy, I discovered that it is much more serious.

When he came to see me, I first asked him general questions about his life to get to know him and make him feel more at ease. I learned that his main hobbies include various types of games or puzzles, and he was especially enthralled in a card game called Duel Monsters. He spends most of his free time playing this game, as do all of his friends. When I asked him about his school life, he told me that he used to be picked on because of his abnormally small height and fascination with games.

Upon mentioning the bullyings, he began fingering the pyramid-shaped object that hung from his neck. I asked him about the object, and he told me that it was called the Millennium Puzzle and was one of the seven legendary Millennium Items. He said that he received it from his grandfather, who was an Egyptologist. Since his mother had mentioned that he talked to this item, I asked him if there was anything special about it. He gripped it more tightly and told me that it was his connection to a very special friend of his. He said that the spirit of an ancient Pharaoh was bonded with the Puzzle and shared his body. He claims that this "spirit" will sometimes take control of his body to help him, because he has much greater confidence and skill than Yugi. Yami (which I presumed to be the name of the "spirit") was known as the King of Games and had especially great skill in the game of Duel Monsters.

He said that when Yami first "took control" of him, he would have blackouts and not remember anything that he had done. (These blackouts often occurred when someone was bullying him or one of his friends) Later, however, he was able to maintain awareness during these episodes. He described feeling a strong driving force inside himself at these times. He eventually recognized this force as a separate entity within him. He would talk with this "other person" and even "see" a projection of him in his mind or in his physical surroundings. He also related experiences to me where he (and Yami) was transported to another realm called the Shadow Realm, where they would play Shadow Games and could summon physical manifestations of their Duel Monsters cards.

I then asked him if any of his friends had any experience with this "Shadow Realm." He then told me about Ryou Bakura and Malik Ishtar, who also had Millennium Items. Their items also had ancient Egyptian spirits that sometimes possessed their owners. Because of their items, they also could travel to the Shadow Realm. 

After relating all this to me, I asked him if I could speak to Yami. After a pause, he agreed and let Yami "take over." I noticed a change in his demeanor-- he seemed more confident and more suspicious of me. His speech was also more formal than before. "Yami" seemed to be very protective of Yugi, challenging my motives in questioning him. Anything I asked him about himself he answered very vaguely. After talking for a short while he must have realized that I thought Yugi was not mentally stable, for he got quite upset with me. He accused me of trying to hurt Yugi and challenged me to a Shadow Game. However, he abruptly reverted back to the calm, somewhat timid demeanor of "Yugi" and apologized for his other self's behavior.

From this interview I concluded that Yugi had developed his "Yami" personality as a result of his lack of self-confidence and his peers' treatment of him. "Yami" had much more confidence to stand up for himself, reflecting Yugi's desire to be stronger. This is also reflected in Yami's title as "King of Games." Yugi's near-obsession with games combined with his desire for greater self-confidence are personified in his "other self" this way. Yami is-- at least in part-- Yugi's ideal self manifested in a dissociated identity. This evolved into a form of schizophrenia, as indicated by Yugi's communication with Yami and his hallucinations of the "Shadow Realm."

It is also likely that this condition was influenced by Yugi's association with Ryou and Malik, who seem to have similar problems. Their common hallucinations of the Shadow Realm and their attribution of their "other selves" to their Egyptian items suggests that their illnesses may have "fed" off of each other, so to speak. It is possible that their fascination with the legend of their Millennium Items contributed to the nature of their hallucinations and dissociated identities, and then talking about them to each other unconsciously modified these hallucinations until they conformed somewhat with each other.

Because of these factors, I recommended that he try to avoid spending too much time with Ryou and Malik and that he separates himself from his Millennium Puzzle, keeping it someplace where he won't see it. It is my theory that he associates these things with his other self and his hallucinations, so perhaps their absence will reduce the intensity of his symptoms. But in order for him to make the most complete recovery possible, he must come to associate his "Yami" characteristics with himself rather than with a "spirit" so that he will no longer have a need for this alternate personality.

However, when I suggested that he get rid of his Puzzle, he became very upset. He said that he couldn't stand being without Yami, and he wouldn't want Yami to be alone again. I tried to convince him that it would be beneficial to both him and Yami, but he refused to listen. He grasped his Puzzle tightly and ran out of my office. His mother, who had been waiting outside, came in and apologized. She says she will try to bring him back, but it is obvious that helping Yugi will take a lot of time and work…

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Wheee! Now wasn't that fun? XP Kinda deep, too. o.o After I wrote this I got inspired some more and thought, "Ya know, this would make a good fic…" And I could see it going one of two ways: 1) a silly humor fic, or 2) a serious, rather dark fic where Yugi is basically institutionalized and separated from Yami. o.o; So gimme some feedback! Which one do you think would be better? Or should I attempt to do both? And if you want me to do both, at least tell me which you'd prefer so I'd know which one I should give more priority to. And if I do expand this, it will probably be in a separate story instead of additional chapters to this one. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review! ^_^


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